


Realistically speaking...

by pempeeeperem



Category: Super Paper Mario (Game)
Genre: F/M, my thoughts of what canon could look like, relationship through the eyes of others, the villains' thoughts on dimimi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-23
Updated: 2020-11-23
Packaged: 2021-03-10 00:36:11
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,705
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27685028
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pempeeeperem/pseuds/pempeeeperem
Summary: A view at Dimentio’s and Mimi’s relationship from everyone’s eyes, including their own, of what they could have canonically been and what the others could have canonically thought about it.
Relationships: Dimentio/Mimi
Comments: 1
Kudos: 10





	Realistically speaking...

Realistically speaking, Count Bleck saw it coming the day they met. The sneaked glances, the shy smiles, Count Bleck knew when a spark sprung between two people and between those two a firework went off.

He didn’t like it, didn’t like watching others relish in what he could never have, reminding him of what he lost. Could he establish a new rule that is obviously directed at them? They would understand, everyone would. So, he didn’t. He wasn’t that petty, but he did remind them to keep to professionalism at all times.

It was inevitable nonetheless and he ached silently in the back rows, saw himself in them. He remembered how it was, how it felt, his mind often sent him back and it was bliss for a moment and torture for hours. The gradual development between him and his love, getting closer to each other with each day, growing fonder with each passing moment, he couldn’t help but constantly be reminded and he rarely withstood it. He left the room, barked sudden orders, rushed off to work, whatever was needed to bear it.

In their defence, they weren’t overly public about it. They quickly caught on and he was thankful for that. He never had to voice his concerns or defend his stance, not to them at least. To Nastasia he had to, because she asked. Of course, she had to ask. He saw this coming too, but he wasn’t prepared nonetheless.

“They remind me so much...” he mumbled.

“You, uhm, could have this too.” she said.

“I could never, Nastasia. Not again.”

“I know you loved her, but you could love again.”

“And who? There is no one like her.”

She didn’t respond and he knew he hurt her again. While it wasn’t his intention, he knew what the words meant to her, but he would not sugar-coat the truth.

As far as his resignation went, it was bearable. He had lived in memories for years, seeing them in a warm embrace followed by a quick retreat when they noticed him did not add another gash. Being supportive was out of question, it was too painful for that, he was too envious of them, but he could remain neutral. He could ignore it, since they never aimed to pain him and nobody aside of Nastasia knew of his troubles and even she rarely dared to speak about it.

It only ever came up again when the heroes stood at the door step, when he sent out his minions to stop them, when they didn’t bother to hide their moment. He stared, heard their promises and their worries, watched as they embraced in what would become their last moment. He had a feeling that this would be their last moment as well as everyone else’s. In this very moment he felt dread of multiple variations.

Nastasia stayed with him, as the void drew closer and his loyal minions fell one by one, and asked him again if he was sure. He wasn’t, but it didn’t matter. It was too late, for the void to be stopped, for his minions to be saved, for the heroes to be halted and lastly for him to survive. What he caused would become history, his name synonym with evil or nihilistic or perhaps tragic, if the authors were lenient with him.

Nastasia reminded him that _she_ was on the hero side, but he shook his head, pleading silently for her to stop. He knew. It didn’t matter no more. As much as he jubilated when he first realised, he despaired all the more. There was a reason why he became Bleck, he was no longer who he used to be and _she_ wouldn’t recognize him, wouldn’t forgive him, wouldn’t love him when _she_ understood the full extend of his deeds.

He faced them. He lost. He had expected as much. What he did not see coming was Dimentio’s death blow, was Nastasia breaking down next to him and it shook him to the core. He saw the monstrosity forming before him and his mind went blank.

In hindsight, he should have known. Dimentio was a bad foreboding, but he didn’t see it, because in the end he avoided him, wishing to avoid the thoughts. It was his downfall. Perhaps. Perhaps not. He didn’t want to see it. He hurt, but he didn’t begrudge their luck. He, better than anyone, knew how delicate and valuable it was.

When Mimi and O’Chunks entered dimension d, when Mimi suddenly stood before him, he couldn’t understand why she was here and not outside, fighting alongside her love. Then he realised, her face said enough and when the pure hearts were revived thanks to O’Chunks and her, he knew what he had to do, yet while he went back to the battle field, she didn’t follow him.

Count Bleck doesn’t know what she did, maybe she waited there, maybe she left, but she didn’t follow him. She didn’t help them further than that and she didn’t confront Dimentio and maybe that was for the best.

Mr L didn’t notice it. He was preoccupied with Brobot, hunched over blue prints, his hand scribbling down notes meticulously and didn’t leave his workshop for much longer than needed. That was of biology’s nature mostly with the occasional social call in between.

He knew that being the last puzzle piece to attach to their team, he didn’t have as strong a connection to the rest, but from his perspective none of them seemed to share a connection with anyone, the exception being the count. That he could understand. The man was the reason they have united under his hand and every single one of them was willed to follow his orders, no matter how hard they would prove to be.

It came as a surprise to him, when he saw his co-minions smooching in the hallway. For a moment he thought his eyes tricked him or that they play a prank on him, that they would turn to him and laugh at him, though he wouldn’t have known how to react to that. That’s not how pranks work, so, he frowned at them instead and passed them.

They noticed him quickly enough and stopped their doing, Mimi whispering something to Dimentio that faintly proclaimed her shame and Dimentio rushed to put his mask back into place. Mr L didn’t give it much attention, he had no desire to watch them nor to meddle with their decisions. He went on to reach his destination and filed away the new information.

While they weren’t public about it, he did notice their relationship now that he knew it existed. They shared looks and smiles, sometimes a quick touch in passing or a whisper during meetings. It’s not that he had a problem with the topic of love, but he was grateful that they didn’t push it into his face. How happy and carefree and hopeful and oh so in love they were. He actually didn’t know, he never thought about it. Why would he? Maybe they weren’t even happy, but that didn’t interest him in the slightest.

Over time though, Dimentio spent time with him and he wondered if it was because his girlfriend caused him trouble. He couldn’t tell, Dimentio has always been good at disguising his thoughts, but he began to wonder faintly. When he asked, Dimentio’s answer was as ambiguous as was everything about him. He didn’t ask again. Firstly, he had no wish to meddle in their business and secondly, after weeks in Castle Bleck he felt the aftermath of isolation. Dimentio wasn’t always the best company nor the most comprehensible one, but the visits comforted him and he didn’t want to lose the one friend he made.

Sure, O’Chunks was also an option and not a horrible one at that, but then again he would have had to sacrifice time that he needed to prepare Brobot and that was out of the question. O’Chunks was occupied with his own preparation, Dimentio wasn’t which led him to believe that Dimentio was either the count’s ace up in his sleeve or a lunatic. As he later learned, it was the latter.

M aybe the relationship w ith Mimi was Dimentio’s attempt to further veil his ambitions. It was a bitter thought, but he didn’t know what their bond looked like. Mr L never focused on it, but if he had known what would later happen, he would have. To find signs of alarm or a way to change Dimentio’s path, because... doesn’t every person long for love and comfort above all?

Looking at it from a distance, they must have had a loose partnership. Why else would Mimi have let him w alk into his demise ? Why else would Dimentio have hazarded the consequence s that his actions would inevitably  lead to ?  That can hardly be called love and it adds to prove Dimentio’s detached character  and Mimi’s negligent attitude .

As Luigi he didn’t understand it either. Given, most of the last moments he wasn’t in control of himself and Super Dimentio was an out of world experience. Merging with another person, let alone with a supernatural power, was hard to comprehend and will forever be impossible to describe, but he did learn something about Dimentio in that moment.

He only understood way later, after he had time to think about the events and it doesn’t add up, but Dimentio was in distress from the moment they merged, during his speech, while fighting Mario and in Dimentio’s approaching failure. It put everything into a different light and Luigi couldn’t understand it and still can’t, but seeing as Mimi pretends that nothing of it ever happened, he likely never will. Whatever the truth is, the only ones who know are Mimi and Dimentio.

O’Chunks chuckled inwardly every time he saw the two goofballs together. He himself spent a lot of time with both and if his time in the army taught him one thing it was to be observant. Therefore, he noticed it early on. He had a good feeling when Dimentio joined, the lad was extraordinary, but had the heart at the right spot. He never thought it would end as it did.

He thought seeing those two would create a lighter atmosphere in the castle. Thanks to them they had more than enough topics to choose from, they always had something they bickered about. He knew that the count had trouble in the past and resented the worlds, but to see love blooming within their own group was elevating. It forced everyone to re-evaluate their work. Just… it didn’t. The count didn’t see reason why they couldn’t be together in the new world, he understood that until he realised that the count didn’t share his opinion and, in reality, avoided them.

Personally, he didn’t mind them. Wasn’t love the most natural thing? It wasn’t as if they forgot about everyone and everything around themselves. Mimi still joined him in their shared interests and Dimentio built a friendship with Mr L. Everything went good, they stayed professional, but Nastasia seemed to disagree.

He saw her fidgeting and her looks, misinterpreted them as worry and spoke the wrong words to her.

“I’m sure they’ll manage.” he said and Nastasia shot him a blank look.

“Yeah.” she said and turned on the spot.

It wasn’t worry as it turned out, it was jealousy and he was confused at that time. He understood later, not that it mattered then. At that point there was little that could be done to stop the chain of events.

Dimentio is an intriguing man to think about. As kind as he presented himself to everyone, as much as he showed warmth towards his lass, Dimentio was just as good an actor. Dimentio played a role and O’Chunks would never forgive himself for letting his senses be tricked that way. It took him way too long to see through the mask.

He feels bad for Mimi, he really does. The way she lit up when Dimentio entered the room, when they could be seen whispering among themselves, she was rarely in a bad mood for long. Whatever quarrels they had, they made up quickly, even if there have been numerous times in which she stomped into his training sessions and demanded to train with him.

To him this looked like a normal progression, they got used to each other’s quirks and it got more peaceful over time. The rest of them got used to them being a couple, it didn’t cause problems, after all. For all it matters now, it seemed that they supported one another with their full heart and both wanted to develop further, wanted to make it work. For a certain time they had created a bubble and reality had no way inside.

Up until those final moments, when he came to be after rubble of the castle’s ceiling knocked his lights out and he, Mimi, the king and the princess woke up. Mimi was unable to move, she was frozen in place, afraid, she shivered and he understood that she was scared and consoled her.

“Come, lass, the others will be fine! Daen’t worry ‘bout Dimentio! He’s strong!”

She broke out in tears. While the heroes left to join their friends, he stayed with Mimi. He knew where they had to go, Nastasia had told them about her suspicion and he reminded Mimi, but she wouldn’t calm down. She didn’t say anything either and didn’t respond to his words until finally a tremor shook her out of her stupor. She wiped away the tears and nodded to him.

The count was moved to see them. He knew that Mimi was as much on the count’s side as he was, still it surprised him that their loyalty, their love for the count, was enough to revive the pure hearts. Tippi left, the count did shortly after and he wanted to follow them, but didn’t want to leave Mimi behind either. So, he stayed with her. The way she looked at nothing, her gaze blank, the face stubbornly frozen in place, let him shiver unpleasantly.

His gut told him that Mimi had awaited this outcome. He couldn’t explain it, but then remembered her reaction upon hearing the news of Dimentio’s betrayal, her reaction was abnormal. Mimi must have known beforehand and she wouldn’t leave dimension d before they knew for sure that the heroes had won the fight.

The rest of the day happened in a blur, he was focused on the task at hand, on the last remaining moments with Count Bleck, to whom he had sworn loyalty, but who also had become a valued friend.

When only the three of them remained, Mimi was deathly quiet and neither him nor Nastasia dared to disturb her silence. He still meets up with Mimi and Nastasia, he wouldn’t want to lose his friends and sometimes they talk about their shared memories, but only about the good ones. And they leave out one person at all cost.

Nastasia knew they would be a hassle. Her peace of mind was hard to keep upright and with them running out and about she feared for their mission, for the count and, lastly, for herself. She tried to be better than this, but they didn’t go easy on her. It wasn’t their fault, she knows that, she never said a thing, never showed a thought, never let an emotion leak and still they caught onto it.

At first, they kept reserved in the count’s presence and that was more than appropriate, but she might have slipped for one moment, glaring at them and their audacity to enjoy what her heart desired most of all. They ceased their displays and she was secretly relieved.

It was no surprise to her that she didn’t make any progress with Count Bleck, a part of her knew, but another part hoped. Hoped so much and so helplessly, she thought that this pair right in front of their all eyes would open his heart. It ripped his heart open and he bled out, none of her words reached him, he lashed out and in the end she hurt as well.

They wouldn’t change the course of action, everything would happen as the count had planned. At the very least, their preoccupation didn’t hinder them in carrying out their tasks and it was easier to find them. She found the other when she knocked at one’s door and if they were separated they usually had a guess where the other was. It made one part of her life easier and the other parts she had to ignore.

The destruction of the worlds was her top priority, next to Count Bleck’s well being, but her ability to impact the latter lessened over time, and the focus shifted to the former. She swore she would accompany him on this march and thus informed him about the possibility of internal riots. Behind all the smiles and sunshine, she suspected a shadow in Dimentio and she would be right and her countermeasures would come into fruition, even if the count never ratified them.

She informed Mimi as well, as good as she could, but it seemed that Mimi couldn’t or didn’t want to understand her. The words might have been chosen poorly, maybe they were too little. She only asked, after all, she didn’t see herself in a position to give Mimi advice about love when her own situation was this dire. She argued that they deserved the time they had left, that it mattered little in view of what awaited them all.

Everything came differently than expected. She thought the last thing she would see was the count, shortly before her sight gave in. It wasn’t the last thing, but the last time she would see him. She woke up and he was gone, all she had left was memories, but it was enough for her to know that he was going to be happy, no matter what weights she had to carry.

She is mourning now, together with O’Chunks and Mimi, though Mimi might have a whole other reason to. She doesn’t know why Mimi had been this blind, why she disregarded the signs and the warnings. Mimi could have avoided a lot of heartache, but then again so could she. Maybe, they aren’t so different. They are friends, after all, close friends even. She understands Mimi, if she was honest. She knows the burden, the endless cycle of hope and pain. It was hope that sucked Mimi into it and it was hope that made Nastasia stay.

Now they can only hope to heal.

Sparks flew like crazy, their eyes locked onto another and time moved incredibly slowly for the duration of their handshake. From the moment they met they knew there was something between them, instant attraction. Curiosity on Mimi’s side, sympathy on Dimentio’s.

The beginning was slow, they reconnoitred the field and advanced in careful steps. They were working together, they had to be careful, but they hit it off instantly and they knew they were safe. The only obstacle in their way was the count, his approval was the first thing on their mind and if they hadn’t gotten it, who knows?

They probably would have met in secret, but thankfully it didn’t come to this. The count requested their full concentration on their goal. After all, he had united them under his banner for a reason and they understood, they wouldn’t disappoint them. Yet their efforts weren’t enough as they learned. It wasn’t their lack of professionalism, nobody could dictate them how to spend their free time, but it wasn’t that either and neither it was their cessation of public displays of affection. They weren’t that desperate, but even the touch of a hand or a quick caress was met with icy looks.

They thought their reaction to be exaggerated, but they agreed to keep to themselves. Nobody wished to displease the count or his assistant, they were in charge, and Dimentio and Mimi followed orders. It didn’t bother them as long as nobody meddled with them and nobody ever discouraged them, not at the beginning, not during their hardships, not towards the end.

No one besides them knew, no one had a right to say anything anyways. The others could guess, maybe they had suspicions, but nobody knew the facts. Only they knew.

Their relationship wasn’t smooth, especially in the beginning it was far from it. They liked each other, that was clear, but neither knew how to navigate in these unknown waters. They didn’t know when to invest energy in fights and when it was worthless, didn’t know about the importance of silence. Thinking back to it, Mimi likes to describe them as… clumsy. They weren’t good at being a couple, but they wanted to be and Mimi always meant well and she knows Dimentio did too.

It wasn’t as if they didn’t learn from each other, either. They did and slowly they found a way, their loud moments diminishing, they learned how to speak and how to whisper and the difference between that. Hidden from the other’s views they shared moments. It was their happiest times.

And as all good things it had to end eventually. They knew it would happen, neither of them was stupid. No amount of love could have changed the paths they had chosen, but it lead to many desperate aches. Dimentio dropped hints and so did Mimi. They knew. Love saved the worlds, but it couldn’t save them.

Their last day together broke not only bones, but also hearts and dreams. It left Dimentio in ashes and Mimi in shambles. Questions followed, but not many and not for long. To Mimi, there was no doubt. The others may think whatever they want to think, but she knows that her and Dimentio’s love was real, none of it was fake. That doesn’t make it easier, she is scarred, but she hopes that she will walk away from it one day.

**Author's Note:**

> All fun AUs aside, I think this is what their relationship could have looked like in the game. It's fun to speculate, do you have thoughts? 
> 
> There's another way I could see them happening. Considering both their characters, they could be very toxic to each other, but I opted for the version I liked better. It's sad enough already, isn't it?
> 
> Oh well, let's now get back to the fun AU stuff, eh?


End file.
